Getting P0301 Code.....

1.8-liter VVTL-i (2ZZ-GE) and VVT-i (1ZZ-FE) engine, transmission, exhaust, intake, and performance tuning discussions
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LoneWolf
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2016 5:24 pm

Getting P0301 Code.....

Post by LoneWolf »

Good day everyone,
I just got this code a few days ago and checked the obvious, plugs,coils and even did swaps on the coils,etc and still getting code...
I do use my car for work and make deliveries....
Now here's the scenario...Let car sit overnight and start the car the next morning, everything is fine and drive normal, then when i get to my first stop and shut the car off and make delivery...Come back out and start it up and it starts to sputter pretty good (no check engine light)...Then put in drive and start to roll and the check engine light is flashing...Come to a stop and then flashing stops...start rolling again (under acceleration) and flashing again....Drive for a couple minutes and eventually goes away and everything is fine again...Happened a couple of times and caught on to just keep the engine running and keeping normal engine temp....
Took to my mechanics Mon morning and even though he can't directly point to it, but he saying the symptoms are pointing to a head gasket going bad...
Today i drove it and again started fine this morning and made a couple stops and it is getting worse on the duration of the sputter and flashing check engine light...Luckily it cleared up again and cut my day short and made it home safely.....
Can anyone concur of the HG or have any other culprit why my car is doing this....Thanks :)
Caretaker

Re: Getting P0301 Code.....

Post by Caretaker »

hopefully you cleared out the original code. If you did, you should now have another code as a result of the flashing check engine light. If they match up, it will better point you towards whichever system is malfunctioning.
LoneWolf
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2016 5:24 pm

Re: Getting P0301 Code.....

Post by LoneWolf »

My brother has a small scan tool and the only code that popped up for me was the p0301....
I do recall it sputtering when they pulled it into the bay and he hooked up his scanner and not sure if he was getting the same code or if something else popped up and maybe that's why he was leaning toward the HG possibility....
The 2 times I did use my brothers scanner is when the check engine light was solid and not just when it was flashing...Of course I didn't have access to my brothers scan tool because it was home and I was out making my deliveries when it would just flash while under acceleration...hahaha
andrewclaus
Posts: 482
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:38 pm
Location: Golden, CO

Re: Getting P0301 Code.....

Post by andrewclaus »

Has a compression or bleed-down test been done yet? Checked the radiator for contamination or coolant loss? How's the oil look? How many miles on the engine? I assume your mechanic has looked at all this as part of the diagnosis. If so, you may have to trust the mechanic.

Your post mentions something about keeping normal engine temp. If the engine is overheating, that's another symptom of HG failure.

By the way, continued driving with a misfire and flashing CEL is a good way to kill the CAT, but if the HG is failing that may not matter depending on how much you're willing to pay to keep the car running.
LoneWolf
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2016 5:24 pm

Re: Getting P0301 Code.....

Post by LoneWolf »

Asked him about the compression test and said that it wouldn't do anything...The coolant looks fine and so does the oil....
I kept the vehicle running because if the engine stayed at normal temp, it wouldn't act up....Only when the engine or engine area got cooled down a bit...
As far as the temp gauge goes, the needle stayed right where it should at normal.....
There has been a couple times where after i let the vehicle sit for a little bit, it fired up no problems and then tried again and then i would get the symptoms....
My thinking, it is something electrical and does it when it wants to....Something wants me to try and replacing the ECU since it does kinda have the symptoms relating....
Not sure if there is anyone or if anyone has mentioned having any issues with their ECU, you know like common problems with vibes/matrix??
andrewclaus
Posts: 482
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:38 pm
Location: Golden, CO

Re: Getting P0301 Code.....

Post by andrewclaus »

There's a P1300 series of codes that addresses the primary ignition circuits and the ECM. If your failure was there, you'd probably be getting different codes.

P1300 is a Toyota-specific code that may not be read by generic scanners.

I'd at least try a compression test on a warm engine. Be careful with that.
LoneWolf
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2016 5:24 pm

Re: Getting P0301 Code.....

Post by LoneWolf »

I had to go in for my mom to take her car in for inspection,since she was still under the weather but I asked him again if he got any codes and he said no....I guess the flashing only happened to him while driving...when he pulled it into the bay the flashing stopped and no cel's popped up with sputtering.....
I will drive the car local but will not use it for work since I travel about 350 miles (round trip), but I drove it to my moms and everything was fine....Came back to drop her car off and started mine up and fine, then drove to a store to pick up a few things and then started back up and now sputtering..drove it home that way (didn't live that far from store) and when I pulled into my parking spot and to me it smelled like burning oil, so wondering if a seal is going bad and dumping it into my exhaust and heating up cause my tail pipe was very hot to touch
jolt
Posts: 945
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2014 2:07 am
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota

Re: Getting P0301 Code.....

Post by jolt »

You can see if you have combustion gases in cooling system with one these: https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_7001006 or http://www.lislecorp.com/divisions/prod ... roduct=406 or https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-75500-Comb ... B0007ZDRUI etc....

There are others out there too that do the same thing. I would think the repair shop would have one to confirm the head gasket problem.

Most things that are electrical will trip a code if bad. One thing that can act flaky and not trip code all the time is the crankshaft position sensor. You can check out this info too.... https://repairpal.com/OBD-II-Code-P0301

If you want the shop to diagnose the problem for you, you need to pay them. It sounds like they just through a high end cost guess out to you or you need to find another shop.
LoneWolf
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2016 5:24 pm

Re: Getting P0301 Code.....

Post by LoneWolf »

My mechanics told me to keep an eye on the coolant level, oil,etc and when driving yesterday and brought it home, I let the car cool down and later checked all the levels....The oil is fine, but the coolant level in the reservoir tank dropped...I guess we can say that the HG is definitely going....
I did have a problem with the camshaft sensor a few months ago and they even replaced the crankshaft sensor as well cause it was leaking a little oil from there....

I have been going to the same mechanic for at least 16 years and they have never let me down...I've even sent my guys quite a few people to have service done and asked them how did everything go, and they were glad i sent them to my mechanics....They don't sugar coat anything and treat everyone the same whether it be a female or male
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vibrologist
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Location: Iowa

Re: Getting P0301 Code.....

Post by vibrologist »

LoneWolf wrote:My mechanics told me to keep an eye on the coolant level, oil,etc and when driving yesterday and brought it home, I let the car cool down and later checked all the levels....The oil is fine, but the coolant level in the reservoir tank dropped...I guess we can say that the HG is definitely going....
I did have a problem with the camshaft sensor a few months ago and they even replaced the crankshaft sensor as well cause it was leaking a little oil from there....

I have been going to the same mechanic for at least 16 years and they have never let me down...I've even sent my guys quite a few people to have service done and asked them how did everything go, and they were glad i sent them to my mechanics....They don't sugar coat anything and treat everyone the same whether it be a female or male
Good mechanic then! but no one is perfect. Checking for gases in the coolant like jolt suggested is more sensitive than visually checking fluid levels and conditions. Maybe they have not done that.
Vibrologist
'05 Vibe

"It is important to know the difference between 'accurate' and 'precise' even if you are neither!"

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LoneWolf
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2016 5:24 pm

Re: Getting P0301 Code.....

Post by LoneWolf »

Wanted to give an update on the situation.....
After all stated above, I went and bought a reman. fuel injector since it was a low cost try and while waiting for it I did buy a compression tester, which I was gonna do after the fuel injector replace (if it was still acting up)....
Once weather co-operated, i replaced the fuel injector and did a test run and then parked the car and let it sit for about 15-20 min....Started up with no problems.... So far so good...
Test run #2, next day I took the car for personal runs and had to make 2 different stops,which would allow a better time frame of start/stop engine cool process....Everything was fine and dandy.....
So I felt confident to take it for a real test run (yesterday) and used it for work, which round trip, i tack on about 350+ miles....Not one problem, so i guess I can say is that the fuel injector was the culprit....Wooooo Hoooooo

GT has 216,000 miles on it and since I replaced that 1 injector, should I just replace the other 3, or do a replace as needed type situation??
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joatmon
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Location: SMC MD

Re: Getting P0301 Code.....

Post by joatmon »

sweet, glad its back to fully functional
LoneWolf wrote: GT has 216,000 miles on it and since I replaced that 1 injector, should I just replace the other 3, or do a replace as needed type situation??
We don't see many reports of injectors failing here, (doesn't mean they don't fail a lot, but people don't mention it) so I'd be inclined to go cheap and not replace the other 3.
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circuitsmith
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Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2011 11:26 pm

Re: Getting P0301 Code.....

Post by circuitsmith »

Sounds like that injector was leaking when off and flooding the cylinder.
If the symptom returns with P0303 etc., then you know another has failed.
2006 Matrix 5-sp
LoneWolf
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2016 5:24 pm

Re: Getting P0301 Code.....

Post by LoneWolf »

joatmon wrote:sweet, glad its back to fully functional
LoneWolf wrote: GT has 216,000 miles on it and since I replaced that 1 injector, should I just replace the other 3, or do a replace as needed type situation??
We don't see many reports of injectors failing here, (doesn't mean they don't fail a lot, but people don't mention it) so I'd be inclined to go cheap and not replace the other 3.
Same here...At least I don't have to get rid of her just yet...lol
I just went on a whim and replaced the injector and started small...
At least this will be here so If anyone has any similar problems like I did, then they know where to look :)
I will leave the other 3 alone and will replace the other(s), only when needed !!!!
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